At the moment I'm switching between three different books: 'Steve Jobs' by Walter Issaacson, 'The Element' by Sir Ken Robinson and 'Zen mind, beginners mind' by Shunryu Suzuki. Although these works are distinct and interesting in their own right, the key themes of all three can be woven together. This conceptual crossover is possibly random in terms of the intensional force of these three works. However, they share common charateristics and in collaboration they produce an interesting contention.
The beginners mind...
The teachings of Zen focus on inner calm and the journey to enlightenment. Shunryu Suzuki's interpretation of zen and his route to enlightenment focus on the concept of 'the beginners mind'. This approach forwards the idea that the mind of an 'expert' reduces the amount of possibilities one can imagine, whereas in the mind of a 'novice' there is no limit on different responses. This is interesting, as it is a contention that bears a striking resemblance to the ideas of Sir Ken Robinson.
The element...
Robinson's ideas are centred around the notion of 'creativity'. He argues that we are all born with innate creativity, that a creative mind is genetically common to all human beings. Robinson perceives a danger in the structure and emphasis of our current educational model. It's routes in the enlightenment and industrial revolution do not fit cohesively with the mind of the modern learner, who inhabits a very different world of intense stimulation and instaneous information. There then a stark relation to be drawn between the notion of creativity 'unlearned' and the idea that a 'beginners mind' is clouded during the passage of time. Both contentions similarly see a danger in us assuming that there are a finate amount of set thought processes by which learners can acquire knowledge.
Lessons from Steve Jobs...
Job's seems to have been a paradoxical character, made up of many contradictory influences and aspects. His formidable drive and ambition could have stemmed from the tangled conflicting emotions surrounding his adoption. Job's came of age in the counter culture of 1960s California but headed an organisation that would take materialism to an arguably 'cult' status (I write this post on my MacBook, with my iPad and iPhone sitting next to me). Unlike many of his peers, Jobs did not fear computers as an aggressive supervisory element of state control. Instead, he saw the potential for computers to push boundaries and open up untapped wells of knowledge. At the centre of this was his determination to put 'intuition' at the heard of Apple devices. Job's was influenced by the teachings of Zen and the concept of the 'creative mind' - the belief in the innate ability of humans to be both intuitive and creative. Not only is this a key concept of the 'beginners mind' but also of the exciting ideas of Sir Ken Robinson.
The link...
The idea explored was not the product of a long-term and conscious effort on my part. It came at random, from three different sources. However, the correlation of these three individually interesting and influential works is what excites me. The idea that humans are innately creative, intuitive and individually intelligent should be core to how we approach education. We are all capable of great things. The concept of 'ability' is possibly misplaced, instead we could focus on 'enablement'. Could an education system centred on enabling students to realise their individual potential and niche would be far more true to learners than one that focuses on 'ability' and 'attainment?
Children inhabit a world that is undergoing dramatic and fast-paced change. They can access, share and communicate information through an ever expanding amount of mediums and devices. These tools and platforms arguably tap into our innate sense of intuition. They also possibly allow for individuals to seek out and utilise ways of expression that speak directly to them. The arguments and fear of intuitive communication technology is definitely redundant. Learners are already moving ahead of educators and it's time for us to catch up.
Intuitive individuals in the creative economy...
The world that educators are preparing young people to enter is vastly different than the one they entered themselves at the end of their own school days. Just as the way learners perceive the world is developing, as are the roles that they will play within it. The next decade will see an economic shift towards different centres of power, it will also see a shift in the demands of the consumer. What consumers desire will change and develop as we all become 'hyper-socialised' through social media and other avenues of expression and collaboration. In order to effectively prepare learners to contribute and succeed in this new world, we must grab hold of the intuitive technology becoming increasingly central in their lives. Young people are less concerned with how things work and instead they focus how they can use things.
Educators must tap into this mindset. We must be involved in the exciting social developments that technology offers. We must not fear this change. As innately intuitive and creative beings, it's actually the most natural thing in the world...
